NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal took a brutal and hilarious shot at Philadelphia 76ers forward Paul George in an Instagram story post that mentioned the number of stars across the league who are nearing the ends of their careers. The ages of each star were given — except for George, whom was simply referred to as “a–.”
Shaq’s latest IG story 💀💀
(h/t @HurdlesIG) pic.twitter.com/IvaF4wNlox
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 30, 2024
George has long been considered one of the best two-way players in basketball. With nine All-Star selections and a career average of 20.7 points a game, he has long been a player many fans and executives have wanted to have on their team.
When he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019, it was widely expected that he and Kawhi Leonard, who also went to the Clippers that same offseason, would deliver the star-crossed franchise its first-ever NBA championship. But after five fruitless seasons there, George opted to head to the 76ers this past summer and team up with former MVP Joel Embiid and rising star Tyrese Maxey.
Instead, both George and Embiid have struggled to stay healthy, and the 76ers have a dismal 12-17 record. George is averaging 15.8 points a game and shooting just 40.4 percent from the field and 31.4 percent from 3-point range, and those numbers are well below par for him.
He has been injury-prone over the years — in his five campaigns with the Clippers, he appeared in over 60 games just once. He has also been a very inconsistent performer in the playoffs, especially when it has come to his shooting efficiency.
At age 34, George may not have much left in the tank, which is bad news for a Sixers franchise that gave him a four-year, $212 million contract in July.
The good news for the Sixers is that they may be starting to find themselves after a horrific start to the season. They have won seven of their last nine games, including a 118-114 decision on Christmas Day over the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics. Embiid is starting to show signs of returning to dominance, and Maxey is playing at a very high level.
But as O’Neal noted, an era is coming to an end soon because of the advanced ages of stars such as George, James Harden, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Chris Paul.
